Search - Reo Speedwagon :: Essential Reo Speedwagon

Good collection with only a couple of things missing

T. LeBaron | NH | 07/21/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"First of all, let me say I've been an REO fan ever since I saw them on Don Kirshner's Rock Concert (and I know I'm dating myself, that was in 1974)...when I went to purchase the three albums they had out at that point I was a little confused to see that there was a different lead vocalist on each of them. Mike Murphy managed to stay with them for three LPs in a row before Kevin Cronin (the second singer) returned for good. My only complaint is that more of Murphy's stuff wasn't included (Give Me a Ride, Reelin' and a couple others were good rockin' tunes and deserve a listen) and my very favorite track from 1984's Wheels are Turnin' - I Do'wanna Know was in fact a top 30 hit for the band and really set the pace for that album...one listen and how can you not be smiling at the end of the song? Aside from that, not a bad collection at all. I do agree with the reviewer that said a 4-CD boxed set is in order. I bet the boys from Champaign have some stuff up their sleeve that'd knock us all out..."

Good compilation

Jeff Pearlman | Lakeland, FL USA | 08/13/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Some of the "Essentials" in Sony's series are merely bad rehashes of already existing hits discs (Eddie Money, Cyndi Lauper), but others use this opportunity to provide the most complete best-ofs ever done on an artist (Heart, Cheap Trick). This falls clearly in the latter category, with almost no filler and almost nothing crucial left out. Some may miss "I Do' Wanna Know" and "Sweet Time," but "Live Every Moment" and "The Key" were probably better choices from the albums those came from. Timing at over 75 minutes per disc, there was literally no room to fit anything else.



The booklet includes well-written liner notes from Kevin Cronin, along with time listings and chart info for each track."

The best of America's stadium rock groups

Peter Durward Harris | Leicester England | 03/21/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"REO Speedwagon have a large, loyal following in their homeland although, like other similar groups, they have only made a limited impact internationally. Still, they have some fans outside America and I'm one of them.



The pinnacle of their career came with the album Hi infidelity, an album full of rousing, up-tempo songs that topped the American album charts for several months and spawned several American hit singles - Don't let him go, Keep on loving you (a number one hit), Take it on the run and In your letter. In the UK, Keep on loving you made the top ten while Take it on the run made the top twenty.



Understandably, the group never came close to matching the phenomenal success of Hi infidelity again, but they had another American number one hit with Can't fight this feeling, which became their third and last UK hit, making the top twenty.



Elsewhere, there are many fine songs here. That ain't love, In my dreams and One lonely night are among the other highlights but I particularly like Time for me to fly, which Dolly Parton later covered in a bluegrass style for her album, White Limozeen - very different from the original, but both versions are brilliant in their different ways.



This compilation includes all the tracks available on the earlier compilation (The hits) except I don't want to lose you, which I can live without. This is the best hits package yet released of the group's music, although if you are new to their music, I recommend that you start with Hi infidelity. Great as their other music is, that album was something else again."